BOSTON, MA — During the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Live virtual conference, USGBC Leadership Awards were given to leaders around the world who are creating the next generation of sustainable, healthy, equitable, and resilient buildings, cities, and communities. The following are recipients in the New England Construction area:Boston Properties was honored for The Hub on Causeway, 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use retail, office, hotel, and residential space, and an expansion of TD Garden on the 2.5-acre site in Boston. The Hub on Causeway is reshaping the original Boston Garden. The project merges and connects with the existing local and regional transportation and marquee entertainment destination of TD Garden.

Conceived as a new urban hybrid, this project will redefine the idea of a neighborhood community hub. The campus consists of four components: the LEED Gold Podium, a 210,000-square-foot, multi-level retail and restaurant space, including the city of Boston’s largest supermarket and 10,000 square feet of outdoor space for a new entrance to TD Garden and North Station; the LEED Gold hotel and residential tower (the residential tower is 38 stories, with 440 units, while the 10-story CitizenM Hotel includes 260 rooms); and the 21-story office tower, approximately 525,000 square feet, which is currently targeting LEED Platinum certification.

Harvard University was honored for its Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), a LEED Platinum facility created with innovative architecture, advanced technology, and building materials free of the most harmful chemicals. Home to the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the building is a living laboratory for interdisciplinary research, learning, and innovation. The SEC leveraged LEED to become one of the world’s healthiest lab buildings.

The SEC features high-performance, novel technologies to ensure energy efficiency. The building also incorporates a stormwater reuse system, insulation techniques, triple-glazed windows, and infrastructure to enable future solar panel installation. Harvard used the construction of the project to evaluate and test over 6,000 building materials and worked with manufacturers and designers to create safer global supply chains. The project prioritized occupant well-being with daylit, well-ventilated open spaces, as well as hundreds of trees and plants that improve air quality.

The eight-story, 544,000-square-foot complex will help Harvard progress in its Sustainability Plan and achieve its goals to be fossil fuel-neutral by 2026 and fossil-fuel-free by 2050.